Someone New
by Rasiaa
Summary: "Eventually, the Trancy names will be so ingrained within us that it will become the truth, and then, and only then, will we have gotten away with this." "Yes, Your Highness."
1. Found

_I may or may not continue this. Thoughts?_

* * *

Jim sat, shivering, on the steps of a house in a village far from the one they grew up in.

His brother Luca was turning nine in three days. He was fourteen now, old enough for a job, but no one wanted a dirty street urchin. A carriage came up in front of the house he was sitting in front of, and an older man stepped out, cigar between chapped lips. He caught sight of Jim and lashed out, making Jim flinch away. "Now, now," a woman said.

She climbed from the carriage after the man, curly blonde hair pulled back away from her face in a style that matched the frills on her dress. Jim wondered distantly what kind of nobles would come to a dirty town like this, but the answer became clear when the man grabbed a box of opium and shoved it into his coat. Several more made their way into the carriage while the woman stared at him.

Jim stared back at her, confused. She looked away and whispered something in her husband's ear, making him pause. A rustle in the bushes next to Jim alerted Jim to the return of Luca. He reached for his brother's hand, a sign they had organized many years ago to mean, "keep quiet". The woman knelt in front of Jim, and reach out to touch him. Despite himself, he flinched, and she stopped, looking sad and hurt. He regretted his reflex, but many years of abuse had ingrained within him the instinct that any adult who reached for him was going to hurt him.

She kept her arm outstretched, but didn't move again. He reached for her hand with his empty one and moved her hand to his face. She cupped his cheek, suddenly looking much happier. "Are you my Alois?" she whispered, and some part of him instantly saw a new way to a home and food.

Feeling hopeful but weary, he allowed, "So they've said."

She moved very quickly. One second later, Jim found himself scooped into her arms, kisses being frantically pressed to his face and hair. He went still, arms limp by his side, shocked. She pulled away and ran her fingers through his hair, looking thrilled.

"Alois, Alois, Alois…" she whispered over and over, while Jim's mind worked frantically. This woman must believe he was her missing son or something. If he played it right, he could become her missing son. "We'll bring you back to the manor and get you cleaned up and back into your rooms, and then we'll announce your return to the Queen and the others in her favor… Oh, I love you so much."

He patted her back awkwardly while her husband watched on, his expression unreadable. He could feel Luca's eyes boring into his back and wished, rather spitefully, that the boy were out here, too. She pulled away, and he sagged with relief. "Who are you?" he asked, and then he regretted it when her eyes darkened.

"Of course you wouldn't remember, darling, you were just a baby when you disappeared," he inwardly rejoiced when he heard that, "But I am your mother, Catherine Trancy, and this," she gestured to her husband, "is Robert Trancy, head of the house."

Jim nodded, fitting the names around his mind. He's heard about the Trancy family before. When he and Luca had traveled to London briefly a few months ago, they had been the talk of the people. Apparently, in her grief over her missing child, the Countess Trancy had tried to commit suicide. Her maid found her before she could bleed out. Jim was suddenly very grateful to the maid.

"Pleasure," he muttered. She beamed at him.

"Is there anything you want to take with you, dearest?" she asked, and he pointed to the bush. She stared at, evidently confused.

"Luca," he called, and the small red-haired boy crawled out, playing his part as the pathetic, sickly child with ease. Jim was very proud of his brother.

Countess Trancy- _mother_, he reminded himself firmly- smiled, and nodded, while her husband huffed in obvious annoyance. "Get in the carriage, all of you," he snapped, "Before we're seen."

Mother scooped Jim- _Alois_, now- into her arms and grabbed a hold of Luca, sweeping them both into her arms. She settled them next to her inside the carriage, messing with their hair and cooing over Luca.

…

Three hours later, he and Luca we sitting on a large bed in a room more extravagant than anything either of them had ever seen. They wore pajamas of the finest silk, over skin that was cleaner than they'd ever been. Luca giggled in delight and hugged his brother tightly, while the blond whispered, "You know what this means, right, Luca?"

"I don't care," Luca insisted, releasing his brother and falling back into the pillows.

"You need to care," came the sharp response. Luca sat up quickly, knowing that tone meant business. "It means that we're nobles now. No more stealing. It means that I am Alois Trancy and you are Luca Trancy for the rest of our lives. Jim and Luca Macken are dead, do you understand?"

Luca nodded frantically and bowed, "Yes, Your Highness!"

Alois smirked. "Good. Sleep now. Though we won't be stealing, we will be lying. Eventually, the Trancy names will be so ingrained within us that it will become the truth, and then, and only then, will we have gotten away with this. Forget the past. It is over."

An answering smirk rose to Luca's lips. "Yes, Your Highness," he vowed.


	2. Dressed

_I've decided to continue this, even if for my own benefit. Updates will be short and irregular and could be weeks or months apart, depending on when I decide to write this. I have a rough idea for a plot, but the fact of the matter is, I will make this up as I go along. It's a secondary project that you're welcome to PM me about if you find yourself with a sudden love for it. Enjoy._

* * *

"Master Alois? Master Luca?"

Jim jolted awake immediately, automatically reaching for Luca and pulling him close, even half asleep. He blinked drowsily at the wall, then his mind kicked into gear. He wasn't Jim anymore. He was Alois Trancy, heir to the household.

Inwardly, he rejoiced. Finally, he would catch a break.

He released his brother and rolled over, coming face to face with a maid, who squeaked with surprise. He snickered. "Who are you?" he asked, suppressing his amusement and sitting up. Luca rolled over in his sleep and pressed his face in Alois' side, and the fourteen year old curled his arm around his kid brother absently, still looking closely at the maid.

"E-Emily, my lord," she introduced, dipping into a low curtsy. "I've been assigned to take care of you until you come of age, my lord," she continued, standing.

"Take care of me?" he repeated, the words tasting sour and wrong on his tongue. Something within him rebelled violently at the thought, as he was accustomed to taking care of himself and Luca with minimal trouble, but then he forced himself to relax. He was a noble now, he reminded himself firmly, and nobles have servants.

Emily nodded. "Yes, my lord, of you and your brother, Master Luca."

The mention of his brother brought the small pool of spit currently pooling into Alois' hip, courtesy of said brother, to his attention. He jerked, waking the child, and cried out in disgust. Emily rushed forward, saving Luca from a rather violent collision with the floor, and then she deposited him upright on the floor and guided Alois into the same state. She rushed around the room and before Alois could blink, she had a bath assembled and Luca was in the water, being scrubbed thoroughly.

She was efficient, he would grant her that.

He watched as Luca's hair became clean, for once, and wondered if his own hair was as white as it was when he ran it under the stream of if it was whiter. Luca's was a light shade of auburn brown, which Alois was sad to admit he had never known. He had pale white skin, and it looked soft without stains of grime and dirt coating it.

Luca climbed out of the bath into Emily's waiting arms, which were armed with a towel. He laughed with delight as she dried him off, smiling at him and paying quiet compliments on how handsome he was, all clean. What a wonderful boy, she told him, smiling with genuine affection.

She tugged Luca away and into an adjourning room, calling, "I'll be back as soon as Master Luca is dressed, Master Alois."

He waved a dismissive hand, knowing she couldn't see him. He looked at the dirty water and curled his lip in disgust. That much dirt had been on Luca's body? He couldn't believe it.

Emily came back sooner than he expected, lifting the tub with ease and dumping the water out the open window. He watched, detached, as she refilled the tub and then moved toward him. He raised a hand, and she stopped immediately.

Wordlessly, he began to rid himself of his clothes, and when he finished, they were in a pool by his feet, which he stepped away from. He climbed into the tub, and after a moment, Emily began to wash him as she'd washed Luca.

It felt so nice. He could feel the dirt slipping off of him like every spec was a sin. Everything he'd ever stolen, every person he'd ever killed, every time he said words of blasphemy so atrocious he could be hanged- all of it was being lost into the water.

It felt like a rebirth.

Emily assisted him with dressing after he covered himself appropriately. Short booty shorts, thigh-high boots, a white shirt under a green vest, completed with a swing coat, made him really feel like a noble. The material with as silky and soft as the nightwear he'd been clothed in the night before, and for once, he actually felt comfortable in his own skin. It was like he'd been born for the life of nobility.

…

"Good morning, dears," Catherine greeted, as Alois and Luca were escorted down to breakfast. The head of the house was nowhere in sight, and Alois was privately glad, because the man gave him the creeps.

"Good morning," Alois returned, taking the seat that Emily drew out for him.

"Did you sleep well?" Catherine asked, eyeing the food that was being escorted from a side door- the kitchen, most likely.

Luca nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, yes! The bed was so comfier than leaves!" he said, delighted, his hands pressed together under his chin. Alois could have smacked the boy. He made a mental note to tell Luca never to mention something from the past again as soon as possible. They couldn't afford to slip up.

The lady looked momentarily shocked before her expression shuttered again. Alois eyed her with interest- could she be hiding more?

"You won't sleep in leaves anymore, dearest," she assured, looking mildly disturbed.

Luca smiled, and Alois felt a small string of relief.


End file.
